A big ball of gooey mozzarella hit the table, drizzled with olive oil. “We’ve got to come to Jersey City more often.”
This is Porta, an excellent pizzeria on Downtown Jersey City’s lively Newark Avenue. I strolled down the pretty, pedestrianized street and ducked into the restaurant, grateful for the warmth on an unseasonably chilly night.
The hostess led me to a spacious downstairs area filled with family-style tables. As I perused the menu, my friends Tim and Matt* filed in.
I settled on the mozzarella appetizer and an arugula pizza.
The pizza is made with San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella and truffle oil. It’s baked in Porta’s own wood fired ovens, quickly roasting in the scorching heat.
Ah, my mutz!
The mozzarella was creamy and unctuous, perfectly complimented with olive oil. Porta’s chefs make the cheese fresh every day, something you’ll rarely see at a restaurant.
Make sure to get some bread with it…there’s nothing like piling that cheese on top of bread and shoveling it into your mouth.
The restaurant is cavernous, and I thought for sure it would never fill up. But just a few minutes after we sat down, nearly every seat was taken.
The moment of truth — our pizzas were here!
Mine was piled high with beautiful, crisp arugula. This could qualify as a health food, right?
Perhaps not — but it was delicious.
The greens and olive oil provide a perfect contrast to the creamy mozzarella. The crust is crispy and nicely browned by the wood fired oven.
When a pizza cooks fast in intense heat, the crust is airy and crispy. This is one of the reasons it’s great to go out for pizza: no home oven can reach those temperatures (often 700 degrees or more).
My friend Matt fell silent as he dug into a plate of meatballs. Conversation grinding to a halt is the surest sign of great food.
Tim got a pizza I’d never seen before — a carbonara. On top was a fried egg, a lovely touch.
Stuffed and getting sleepy, we called for the check. Leaving this inviting atmosphere and heading out into the cold was hard to do, but we were already making plans to come back.
Porta has locations in Jersey City, Montclair, and Asbury Park. The Jersey City location is open 7 days a week.
Stop in for a delicious pie and some homemade mutz!
What are your favorite pizzerias? Leave a comment and let us know!
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